Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will compete in the 27th Federation Cup National Championship 2024 to be held from May 12 to 15 in Odisha.
“As per entries Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena will compete in domestic competition starting May 12 in Bhubaneshwar,” the Athletics Federation of India posted on social media.
This will be Chopra’s first domestic competition since the 2021 Federation Cup in Patiala where his best throw was of 87.80m.
The men’s javelin throw in Bhubaneswar will take place on May 14 and 15. While the qualification will be held on May 14, the final will be on the following day.
Before the Federation Cup, the two-time Asian Games gold medallist will be taking part at the Doha Diamond League on May 10 along with compatriot Jena, who will also take part in the tournament in Odisha.
Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m and has been eyeing to breach the long-awaited 90m mark, will also have other well-known throwers, including D.P. Manu and Shivpal Singh, as fellow competitors.
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The 26-year-old was the first Indian track and field athlete to set a world record (under-20) when he threw 86.48m to win the 2016 World U20 Championships, which was also the first time an Indian athlete had won a global track and field title.
He won javelin gold at the 2018 Asian Games, the first Indian athlete to do so, and made history in Tokyo when he became the country’s first Olympic gold medallist in track and field. That trend continued at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest when he became the first athlete from India to strike gold.
After the Federation Cup, Chopra is scheduled to compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 18. The superstar thrower is expected to train in Europe in the run-up to the Paris Games, where he will defend his Olympic gold medal.
So far, Chopra and Jena, who took gold and silver in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year throwing 88.88m and 87.54m respectively, are the two Indian javelin throwers who have qualified for Paris 2024.
(With inputs from Y B Sarangi)
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